•«ik 


mSTRUCTIOlVS 


SPECIE  T.    A-GMDISTTS 


OF   THK 


POST  OFFICE  DErAIlTMENT 


IFEDEKATE    STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


..ikm^ 


George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 

FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


IISTRUCTIOIS 


TO    THE 


SPECIAL    ^aElSTTS 


OF    THE 


POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMBi^T 


OF    TUB 


CONFEDERATE    STATES   OF  AMERICx\. 


RICHMOND,  VA. 

PRINTED    BY    RITCHIE    &    DUNXAVANT. 
1861. 


INSTKUCTIONS. 


Post  Office  Department, 

1861. 


To 


Special  Agent: 

Sni :  The  office  of  Special  Agent  of  this  JDepartmeiit 
embraces  a  wide  range  of  important  and  responsil)le 
duties,  for  the  due  performance  of  which  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Depart- 
ment is  indispensable.  If  you  are  not  ah'eady  familiar 
with  those  now  in  forcQ,  it  is  recommended  that  you 
become  so  as  rapidly  as  possible,  so  that  you  may  liot 
only  conform  your  own  official  conduct  thereto,  ])u.t  may 
be  qualified  to  instruct  Postmasters,  and  ail  others  in  the 
employment  of  the  Department,  as  to  their  sevei'al  duties, 
in  cases  of  doubt  or  question. 

As  the  pecuniary  resources  of  the  Department  are  about 
to  be  Kmited  to  its  own  proper  revenues,  it  is  now,  espe- 
cially the  duty  of  each  officer  and  employee  of  the  De- 
partment, in  his  own  sphere  of  observation,  to  see  that  no 
unnecessary  expense  is  either  made,  or  suffered  to  remain, 
chargeable  upon  those  revenues,  without  being  brought  to 
the  special  notice  of  the  Postmaster  General.  The  nature 
of  your  duties  will  offer  you  an  extended  field  of  observa- 
tion, and  may  enable  you  to  ^oint  out  cases  where  the 
trausporfation  of  the  mail  over  particular  routes  may 
either  be  diminished  or  dispensed  with  altogether  with- 
out material  injury  to  the  public  interests.     In  those  sec- 


tions  of  the  country  remote  from  tlie  central  administra- 
tion of  the  Department,  where  the  increase  of  raih'oad 
service  has  been  the  most  rapid — superseding  the  old 
established  coach  and  horse  routes — instances  will  perhaps 
still  be  found  where  the  expense  of  double  service  is  in- 
curred, and  whc]-e  the  old  contract  service  should  either 
be  abolished  or  superseded  by  messenger  service.  You 
will  report  full}^  and  frankly  every  case  in  which  economi- 
cal reforms  can,  in  your  judgment,  be  advantageously 
made  in  this  branch  of  the  service. 

In  respect.to  the  service  of  route  agents,  also,  your  atten- 
tion will  be  directed  to  a  reduction  of  the  number  of  agents 
now  employed,  by  dispensing  with  so  much  of  this  service 
as  is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  mails 
and  the  reasonable  accommodation  of  the  public  on  im- 
portant routes,  and  by  requiring  such  necessary  service 
to  be  performed  by  a  sufficient  number  of  agents  only, 
dispensing  with  the  service  of  supernumeraries.  Your 
observation  and  suggestions  on  this  subject  shoidd  be 
freely  communicated  to  the  Department. 

MAIL   DEPREDATIONS. 

The  investigation  of  reported  mail  depredations,  or 
losses  by  mail,  will  necessarily  occupy  a  large  portion  of 
your  time,  and  will  require  the  constant  exercise  of  your 
utmost  vigilance  and  skill ;  but  as  in  the  performance  of 
this  duty  you  may  frequently  have  occasion  to  pass  over 
long  lines  of  mail  transportation,  and  to  visit  numerous 
Post  Offices,  you  will  at  th§  same  time  be  enabled  to  give 
more  or  less  attention  to  the  general  condition  of  the 
postal  service  on  your  line  of  travel,  and  to  such  of  its 
particulars  as  will  hereinafter  be  enumerated. 


.  k 


Your  commission  as  Special  Agent  of  this  Department 
will  pass  you  free  over  all  mail  routes  where  conveyance 
of  passengers  is  provided  for  by  the  contractors  ;  but  if  in 
the  performance  of  the  jiressing  duties  of  your  agencj'^ 
you  should  at  any  time  find  it  necessary  or  clearly  ex- 
pedient to  procure  private  conveyance,  or  to  pay  your 
fare  on  a  passenger  route,  you  will  cliarge  the  expense  of 
such  conveyance  in  your  next  monthly  or  quarterly  ac- 
count, and  accompany  it  with  proper  explanations  and 
vouchers.  If  in  any  case  the  contractor  on  any  mail 
route  (whether  by  railroad  or  otherwise)  refuses  you  a 
free  passage  over  the  same,  after  the  exhibition  of  j^our. 
commission,  3'ou  will  pay  the  fare  deiuanded,  taking  a 
receipt  therefor  if  possible,  and  will  charge  the  same  in 
your  account.  If  no  such  voucher  can  be  obtained  the 
charge  must  be  verified  by  your  affidavit,  in  Vv^iich  you 
will,  when  the  fare  has  been  paid  to  a  railroad  company, 
clearly  describe  such  company  by  its  proper  style  and  title, 
instead  of  giving  merely  the  termini  of  the  route  passed 
over.  You  are  entrusted  witli  keys  to  the  several  mail 
locks  now  in  use,  and  are,  by  virtue  of  your  commission, 
and  these  instructions,  authorized  to  open  and  examine 
the  mails  whenever  and  wherever,  in  the  pursuit  of  your 
investigations,  you  may  find  it  necessary  to  do  so.  You 
are  also  empowered  to  enter  and  examine  any  Post  Office 
when,  in  your  judgment,  the  success  of  your  investiga- 
tions, the  safety  of  the  mails,  or  the  general  interests  of 
the  service  demand  such  examination.  You  will  carefully 
investigate  every  case  of  alleged  mail  depredation  referred 
to  you  from  this  Department,  acknowledging  to  the  In- 
spection Office  the  receipt  of  the  papers  in  each  by  its 
number,  and  will  return  the  papers  to.  him  after  investi- 
gation, with  a  separate  report  in  each  case.     You  will  also 


investigate  and  report  upon  such  cases  of  mail  depredation 
as  may  be  made  known  to  you  by  Postmasters,  or  by  par- 
ties interested,  when  such  cases  are  within  the  ordinary 
geographical  range  of  your  duties ;  and  when  they  arc 
not,  you  will  see  that  they  are  duly  referred  to  the  spe- 
cial agent  who,  from  his  locality,  can  most  conveniently 
investigate  them.  In  every  case  of  successful  investiga- 
tion you  w^ill  communicate  the  result  to  the  person  who 
originally  reported  the  case — whether  to  yourself  or  to 
the  Department. 

It  is  not  possible  for  the  Department  to  instruct  you  as 
to  the  particular  means  to  be  used  in  discovering  the  ex- 
act locality  of  an  ascertained  theft  from  the  mail,  or  in 
ferreting  out  and  arresting  the  perpetrator.  These  must 
be  as  various  as  the  circumstances  which  surround  ea,ch 
case,  and  must  be  left  to  the  intelligence,  vigilance,  in- 
genuity, and  acuteness  of  the  agent  charged  with  each 
investigation.  There  are,  however,  certain  qualities  and 
habits  which  are  absolutely  indispensable  to  a  proper  and 
successful  discharge  of  this  class  of  his  official  duties. 
Foremost  among  these  are  self-control,  perseverance,  cau- 
tion, and  silence  on  the  subject  of  his  employment  and 
operations.  A  special  agent  of  this  Department  should, 
when  travelling,  attract  as  little  notice  as  possible,  and 
should  conceal  his  official  character  whenever  and  wherever 
such  concealment  can  be  practiced,  and  should,  of  course, 
refrain  from  announcing  it  on  hotel  books  and  other  pub- 
lic registers.  He  should,  as  well  after  as  before  a  success- 
ful investigation,  prevent  as  far  as  he  can,  publicity  being 
given  to  the  means  by  which  his  success  was  achieved ; 
for  by  this  publicity  the  same  means  may  become  inopera- 
tive and  valueless  in  another  case. 

When  an  arrest  is  made,  the  prisoner  should  be  put  in 


charge  of  the  regular  law  officers  of  the  government  as 
early"as  possible.  If  his  examination  cannot  conveniently 
be  had  before  a  jmlge  or  commissioner  of  the  Confederate 
States,  he  should  be  taken  before  the  nearest  justice  of 
the  peace  or  other  State  authority  competent  to  examine 
and  bind  him  over  for  trial.  As  justices  of  the  peace 
have  in  many  cases  declined  to  issue  warrants,  or  to  enter 
upon  such  examination,  from  a  doubt  as  to  tbeir  jurisdic- 
tion, the  Special  Agent  should  be  prepared  to  remove 
such  doubt  by  referring  them  to  the  provisions  on  this 
subject  contained  in  tlie  83d  section  of  the  act  of  24tli 
September,  17S9,  and  in  the  37th  section  of  the  act  of 
March  3,  18:^5.  AVhcn  in  the  judgment  of  a  Special 
Agent  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  he  should  employ 
counsel  for  the  protection  of  the  interests  of  the  Con- 
federate States  at  such  pi-eliminary  examination,  such 
counsel  should  be  engaged  to  prosecute  the  case  for  a 
stipuhated  fee,  which  should  not  exceed  that  usually  paid 
for  like  service  rendered  in  cases  arising  in  the  same 
vicinage  under  the  State  laws.  A  report  of  the  result  of 
such  examination  should  be  promptly  made  to  the  Inspec- 
tion Office,  and  should  especially  show  whether  the  pro- 
ceedings were  completed  in  one  day  or  were  continued 
from  day  to  day,  and  how  long. 

A  Special  Agent  who  is  without  experience  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duties,  should,  as  soon  as  possible  after 
his  appointment,  spend  sufficient  time  in  a  well-regulated 
and  considerable  Post  Office  to  acquaint  himself  fully 
with  the  routine  duties  of  such  office,  in  respect  to  the 
reception,  separation,  and  distribution  of  mails,  the  box- 
ing and  delivery  of  letters,  and  the  making  up,  billing, 
and  despatching  of  mails.  He  should  also  improve  the 
first  opportunity  afforded  him  of  conferring  and  advising 


8 

with  some  more  experienced  agent  of  the  Department  as 
to  the  best  means  of  performing  the  duties  required  of 
him,  especially  those  which  relate  to  the  tracing  of  depre- 
dations on  the  mail. 

TRANSPORTATION    OF    THE    MAILS. 

The  efficiency  and  usefulness  of  a  Special  Agent  in  the 
performance  of  his  duties  in  any  branch  of  tlie  service  of 
the  Department,  must  greatly  depend  on  the  extent  of 
his  general  knowledge  of  the  mail  service  of  the  country, 
and  his  minute  and  particular  knowledge  of  that  in  the 
district  or  region  of  country  to  w^iich  his  duties  are  prin- 
cipally confined.  He  should  know  accurately  the  con- 
nection of  routes,  and  the  grade  of  service  required  on 
each.  To  this  end,  if  you  have  not  them  already  in  your 
possession,  you  should  apply  to  the  Contract  Bure<)u  for 
and  obtain  pamphlet  copies  of  the  last  advertisement  of 
mail  lettings  in  the  sections  where  you  are  principally 
employed,  and  should  keep  them  with  you  for  constant 
reference,  noting  upon  them  from  time  to  tinic  such 
changes  as  may  come  to  your  knovvdedge. 

RAILROAD    SERVICE. 

In  passing  to  and  over  railroad  routes  you  will  carefidly 
dbserve  what  arrangements  are  made  for  the  safety  of 
the  mails  while  being  conveyed  between  the  several  Post 
Offices  and  the  railroad  stations  or  mail  cars ;  and  also 
while'  passing  from  one  route  to  another,  and  how  they 
are  disposed  of  in  the  cars.  On  roads  where  there  are 
route  agents,  see  if  suitable  accommodations  are  provided 
for  the  safe  and  convenient  assorting  and  bagging  of  the 
mails. 


When  there  are  no  such  agents  on  the  route,  notice  close- 
ly wfw  is  charged  with  the  custody  of  the  mails  ;  whether 
they  are  placed  under  lock,  beyond  the  reach  of  any  but 
duly  authorized  persons,  and  generally,  whether  proper 
provision  is  made  for  their  safety  in  all  respects.  Espe- 
cially see  that  all  persons  employed  by  the  railroad  com- 
panies in  the  transfer  or  custody  of  the  mails  are  qualified 
by  oath  as  carriers.  It  is  known  that  several,  and  it  is 
believed  that  many  entire  mails  have  been  stolen  while 
the  coutents  of  one  mail  car  were  being  transferred  to 
another.  This  has  been  done  during  the  confusion  of  such 
transfer  even  where  two  roads  were  connected  by  a  con- 
tinuous track,  and  the  danger  of  theft  is  greatly  increased 
where  there  is  a  considerable  portage  between  the  two 
trains.  Such  transfer  should,  therefore,  ahcays  be  made 
with  the  utmost  care  and  watchfulness,  and,  when  occur- 
ring in  the  night,  should  not  be  attempted  until  abundant 
right  shall  have  been  furnished  and  in'operhj  distributed  or 
stationed.  Special  Agents  are  earnestly  desired  to  give 
heed  to  this  matter,  and  to  sec  that  ample  and  certain  pro- 
vision is  made  for  such  light  beforehand.  You  will,  if 
possible,  effect  arrangements  for  keeping  all  the  letter 
mails  under  the  view^  of  a  Route  Agent  or  Local  Agent 
during  such  transfer.  Such  arrangements  are  supposed 
now  to  exist  in  respect  to  all  mails  arriving  in  charge  of 
a  Route  Agent,  or  where  a  Local  Agent  is  stationed,  but 
provision  must  be  made  for  the  safety  of  the  mails  under 
all  ordinary  circumstances,  and  you  will  make  it  your 
special  duty  to  see  whether  Route  Agents,  who  consider 
themselves  '*  off  duty"  at  the  ends  of  their  respective 
routes,  may  not  properly  be  required  to  superintend  the 
transfer  of  all  mails  which  arrive  by  railroad  at  their 
locality  during  their  vacation. 
2 

\ 


10 

You  will  probably  find  that  many  of  these  agents  liold 
themselves  responsible  for  the  safe  transfer  of  such  mails 
only  as  arrive  in  their  charge,  and  consider  themselves 
exempt  from  all  public  duty  during  the  whole  interval  of 
time  (whether  long  or  short)  when  they  are  not  actually 
passing  over  their  routes.  In  such  cases,  after  satisfying 
yourself  that  it  will  impose  on  them  no  hardship,  you  arc 
authorized  to  require  their  performance  of  this  slight  ad- 
ditional service,  and  will  promptly  report  any  refusal  on 
their  part.  It  is  believed  that  in  many  cases  the  safety 
of  the  mails  may  thus  be  materially  promoted,  without 
exacting  any  thing  unreasonable  from  these  agents. 
Where  no  such  arrangement  is  practicable,  it  should  be 
carefully  seen  that  the  messengers  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany are  every  way  reliable  and  competent. 

STEAMBOAT    SERVICE.  • 

Ik 

See  that  the  mails  on  steamboats  are  locked  up  in  a 
suitable  apartment,  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the 
Route  Agent,  when  one  is  on  board,  and  otherwise  under 
the  control  of  some  person  designated  for  the  purpose  by 
the  contractors,  and  duly  qualified  by  oath.  Such  person 
should  be  made  clearly  to  understand  that  he  is  in  no 
case  to  allow  the  mails  to  pass  from  his  charge  into  that 
of  any  unauthorized  person.  Make  prompt  and  special 
report  of  every  case  in  which  you  observe  mails  exposed 
on  the  deck  of  a  steamer  during  her  passage. 

COACH   AND    nOKSE    SERVICE. 

On  coaches  and  hacks  see  that  the  mail  is  secured  from 
wet  or  other  injury  in  a  boot  under  the  driver's  seat,  or, 
if  its  weight  and  bulk  require  it,  in  the  body  of  the  car- 
riage, to  the  exclusion  of  "passengers  if  necessary. 


11 

The  leaving  or  dropping  of  the  mail,  or  an}^  portion  of  it, 
in  order  to  conve}^  passengers,  is  punishable  by  exemplary- 
fines.  You  will  investigate  every  case  of  this  kind  that 
may  in  any  way  come  to  youi*  know^ledge,  and  will  report 
it  fully  to  tlie  Inspection  Office.  Where  buggy  or  horse- 
back service  is  performed,  see  that  the  mails  are  protected 
by  suitable  waterproof  coverings,  and,  in  respect  to  all 
these  modes  of  service,  observe  well  the  condition  of  horses 
and  carriages  and  the  qualifications  and  deportment  of 
drivers  and  carriers,  reporting  deficiencies  in  either. 

DUTIES   AT    rOST    OFFICES. 

At  Post  Offices  terminating  rontes,  examine  the  pre- 
scribed schedules  and  modes  of  conveyance ;  compare 
them  with  the  actual  arrivais,  departures,  and  grades  of 
service,  and  note  any  irregularities  discovered.  Observe 
whether  any  errors  have  been  inadvertently  embraced  in 
schedules,  or  whether  any  other  defective  arrangements 
exist  in  the  transportation  service,  causing  delays  or  fail- 
ures of  connection,  and  suggest  promptly  and  intelligently 
the  proper  changes  and  remedies.  Visit  frequently,  and 
without  previous  notice,  the  distributing  offices,  and  ex- 
amine carefully  their  accounts  of  mails  sent  and  received 
to  and  from  otlier  distributing  offices,  especially  to  ascer- 
tain whether  letters  are  so  mailed  as  to  be  subject  to  two 
or  more  distributions,  in  violatioii  of  the  regulatio7is  and  of 
sjpecidl  instructions  h\j  circular.  * 

At  each  principal  Post  Office,  observe  whether  the 
Postmaster  gives  his  personal  attention  to  its  business ; 
and  if  not,  whetlier  such  watchful  supervision  is  exercised 
over  it  by  anyhody  as  to  secure  subordination,  method, 
and  personal  accountability  among  the  force  employed  in 


12 

it,  without  which  there  can  be  no  security  to  the  corres- 
poDclence  passing  through  it. 

Admonisli  Postmasters,  wlien  necessary,  against  suffer- 
ing any  persons  not  employed  in  their  offices  to  have 
access  to  the  mails  when  in  process  of  023ening,  separating, 
distributing,  or  otherwise  ;  and  against  allowing  aw?/ jper- 
scn  not  duly  qualified  and  authorized,  to  have  access  to 
the  tables  and  cases  where  letters  are  deposited. 

These  prohibitions  include  Route  Agents,  Mail  Carriers, 
Letter  Carriers,  and  all  other  persons  who  may  have  been 
sworn  for  the  performance  of  othc?-  service  to  the  Depart- 
ment. 

Observe  at  all  offices  whether  incapable  or  otherwise 
unreliable  and  unsafe  persons  are  employed  in  them,  and 
report  the  result  of  your  observation  to  the  Appointment 
Office  when  in  your  opinion  it  is  proper  to  do  so. 

Prevent  as  far  as  possible  by  admonition  and  advice  the 
exposure  of  the  mails  at  small  roadside  offices  by  the 
opening  and  separating  them  in  public  rooms  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  neighbors,  and  report  every  flagrant  abuse 
of  this  sort  which  you  cannot  cure.  Ascertain  by  obser- 
vation and  inquiry  at  distributing  offices,  and  by  such 
other  means  as  may  occur  to  you,  whether  packages  of 
postage  stamps  are  sent  from  any  Post  Offices,  or  by  any 
Route  Agents,  in  the  unlocked  bags  or  newspaper  sacks, 
and  report  every  case  in  which  you  find  that  either  such 
packages  or  letter  nackages  are  so  sent.  Notice  at  Post 
Offices  the  mode  practiced  of  canceling  postage  stamps, 
and  report  every  case  in  which  the  instructions  of  the 
Department  in  that  regard  are  violated. 

EOUTE   AGENTS. 

Route  Agents  should  be  men  of  strict  integrity,  business 
capacity,  and  correct  habits.     If  any  are  observed  by  you 


13 

who  fail  to  meet  these  reqiiireinents,  report  them  with 
the  particuhirs  of  their  several  cases  to  the  Appointment 
Bureau. 

When  you  find  the  place  of  a  regular  Route  Agent 
filled  by  a  sub^jtitule,  ascertain  whether  the  substitution 
has  been  made  conformably  with  the  reguhations  of  the 
Department ;  and  if  not,  do  not  hesitate  or  fail  to  report 
the  case  without  dehiy.  It  is  not  allowable  for  a  Route 
Agent  to  leavi^  liis  duties  in  charge  of  a  substitute,  except 
under  the  most  urgent  cipcumstances,  without  leave  being 
first  granted  by  tlie  Postmaster  General,  on  a  written  ai)- 
plication  to  the  Appointment  Bureau,  and  such  leave  v>  ill 
be  in  writing  for  a  specified  tin.ie,  the  limitatioruof  which 
must  be  Strictly  observed. 

AMion  a  sudden  and  urgent  necessity  arises  for  the 
temporary  absence  of  a  Route  Agent  from  his  duties — 
allowing  no  sufficient  time  for  a  reference  of  his  applica- 
tion to  the  Department — a  Postmaster  at  the  end  of  his 
route  may  grant  leave  for  such  absence ;  but  onl}^  on  a 
written  application,  which  he  will  refer  to  the  Department 
for  approval  by  the  first  mail  thereafter,  and  the  leave 
thus  oi-anted  must  be  limited  to  the  shortest  time  in  which 
such  application  can  reach,  and  be  returned  from  the  De- 
partment by  mail. 

Route  Agents  are  forbidden  to  admit  into  the  mail  cars 
in  their  charge  airij  persons  who  are  not  agents  of  this  De- 
partment. You  are  desired  to  see  that  this  rule  is  strictly 
enforced,  and  will  report,  without  exception,  every  in- 
stance that  may  come  to  your  knowledge  of  its  violation. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Observe  the  condition  of  mail  bags,  and  enforce  as  far 
as  possible  that  regulation  of  the  Department  which  re- 
quires Postmasters  at  the  ends  of  routes  to  withdraw  from 


14 

the  service  all  that  are  too  mucli  worn,  or  from  any  other 
cause  are  unsafe.  Endeavor  to  enforce  also  the  regula- 
tion which  requires  the  return  of  canvas  sacks  sent  out 
from  the  principal  cities  W' ith  newspapers  and  other  printed 
matter.  Notice  whether  and  how  mail  keys  are  securely 
kept  in  Post  Oiiices,  and  correct  any  careless  habits  which 
you  may  observe  in  that  regard. 

Ascertain  as  far  as  possible  and  report  violations  of  law 
by  private  expresses  or  by  other  persons  in  sending  or 
carrying  mailable  matter  over  established  routes  out  of 
the  mail,  and  suggest  any  improvements  in  the  service 
calculated  to  remedy  or  abate  this  evil. 

In  respect  to  all  tlie  foregoing  instructions  you  are  de- 
sired in  every  case  where  a  flagrant  abuse  or  imperfection 
in  the  service  is  discovered  to  make  immediate  report 
tliereof  to  the  Department,  and  in  urgent  and  important 
cases  to  use  the  telegraph  if  you  deem  it  necessary,  but 
when  the  cause  of  complaint  is  slight,  and  can  be  cor- 
rected by  your  advice  or  admonition,  no  special  report  of 
the  case  need  be  made.  You  will,  how^ever,  keep  from 
day  to  day  a  brief  but  accurate  jomiial  in  which  you  vv^ill 
enter  yo\iY  observation  or  other  knowdedge  of  any  neglect 
of  duty,  or  violation  of  the  regulations  of  the  Depart- 
ment, in  any  branch  of  the  service — by  Postmasters,  Mail 
Contractors,  Route  Agents,  or  any  other  persons — so  that 
a  transcript  of  this  journal  will  exliibit  all  the  reports 
required  by  these  several  articles  of  instruction,  and  all 
notices  of  irregularities  or  imperfections  in  the  service, 
with  suggestions  for  their  improvement,  as  they  may  have 
fallen  under  your  observation  or  otherwise  become  known 
to  you  from  day  to  day.  These  journals  must  also  show 
the  locality  and  manner  of  employment  of  each  agent  on 
the  several  days  of  each  month,  and  nmst  indicate  the 


15 

dej^redation  cases  in  the  investigation  of  which  he  is  en- 
gaged, and  the  progress  of  his  investigation.  Each  agent 
will  forward  to  the  Department  with  his  monthly  account, 
or  as  soon  after  the  beginning  of  each  month  as  practica- 
ble, a  transcript  of  so  much  of  this  journal  as  may  not 
have  been  previously  connnunicated  to  it  in  special  re- 
ports. These  transcripts  should  be  addressed  to  the  In- 
spection Office,  to  be  filed  subject  to  the  inspection  of 
the  proper  officers  of  the  Department.  When,  however, 
an  occasion  arises  for  a  special  report  to  the  Department, 
it  sliould,  if  relating  to  confidential  matters  or  the  general 
interests  of  the  Department,  be  addressed  directly  to  the 
Postmaster  General,  and  otherwise  to  the  head  of  that 
bureau  of  the  Department  to  which  its  subject-matter 
may  especially  relate ;  and  when  matters  relating  to 
several  branches  of  the  service  are  to  be  treated  of  at  the 
same  time,  separate  reports  should  be  made,  each  to  its 
proper  bureau.  For  a  description  of  the  powers  and  du- 
ties of  each  bureau,  see  printed  "Lav/s  and  Regulations" 
of  the  Department. 

When  a  Special  Agent  is  assigned  for  duty  to  a  par- 
ticular district  or  section  of  country,  he  will  not,  except 
in  a  case  of  absolute  necessity,  or  in  the  pursuit  of  some 
special  investigation  in  the  line  of  his  duty,  withdraw 
himself  from  his  district  to  visit  the  seat  of  government, 
or  otherwise,  without  instructions  or  leave  from  this  De- 
partment. When  he  has  no  special  and  urgent  duties  to 
perform  under  the  iiarticular  instructions  of  the  Depart- 
ment, as  can  rarely  happen,  he  should  still  avoid  remain- 
ing unnecessarily  long  at  his  place  of  residence,  but 
should  keep  moving  over  the  several  routes  in  his  district, 
especially  those  which,  from  their  importance,  or  other- 
wise, require  the  most  strict  surveillance.    His  salary  and 


16 

expense  account  may  be  forwarded  for  settlement  at  the 
end  of  each  month  or  quarter,  as  he  may  elect,  addressed 
to  the  Inspection  Office. 

In  conclusion,  the  Postmaster  General  invites  your 
earnest  and  active  co-operation  in  the  endeavors  to  v^hich 
he  will  devote  himself,  to  give  security  to  the  mails,  to 
prevent  unnecessary  delays  and  detentions  in  their  trans- 
portation, to  elevate  the  character  of  the  Post  Office 
Department  for  faithfulness,  efficiency,  and  punctuality 
in  the  several  branches  of  its  service,  and  thus  to  secure  a 
more  perfect  accomplishment  of  the  extended  and  benefi- 
cent objects  for  which  it  was  established.  To  these  high 
purposes  he  asks  and  expects  the  devotion  of  your  whole 
time  and  best  efforts. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 


Postmaster   GcncraL 


